Dems unveil password access bills

House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a pair of bills to prevent employers from forcing workers or job seekers to turn over Facebook or other online passwords.

The new Password Protection Act would penalize those managers who try to compel access to employees' or applicants' data as a condition of employment. However, it would not block employers from checking out information available to the public online about their current and prospective workers.

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"The growing trend toward employers compelling or coercing their prospective or current employees to provide access to private, password protected accounts … is absolutely repugnant and reprehensible," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), one of the bill's authors, said at a press conference.

Joining Blumenthal in backing the measure in the Senate are Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Chuck Schumer of New York. The House companion is sponsored by Democratic Reps. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Ed Perlmutter of Colorado.

It is not clear if Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) — who signed onto a "Dear Colleague" letter promising a bill to come — is a sponsor of the House effort. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he pulled his support, and if so, why.

Lawmakers are responding to a series of news reports suggesting managers are trying to check up on their employees' and applicants' private online accounts. It is not clear if the practice is widespread. Blumenthal said Wednesday that he has heard from voters about the practice, though it seems to be on the decline.

Still, the buzz has helped move state legislatures and Washington alike to try to dampen the potential for abuse.

Under the new bill, employers could not make requests for log in credentials or force current employees and applicants to log in to their Facebook profiles or other sites to show a manager what's saved there privately. It would prohibit those entities from taking action against workers who don't provide access to their data.

The bill gives state and federal agencies the ability to waive these rules, however, in certain circumstances — such as for those who work with classified information. And supportive lawmakers said the measure preserves the ability of employers to set computer-use policies, or hold employees accountable for stealing data.

The members on hand for the press conference Wednesday said employers who make such requests for log in credentials threaten consumer privacy, jeopardize the security of personal information and raise the possibility of discrimination.

Among other concerned lawmakers is Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), who introduced a measure last week to block entities, including universities, from trying to gain access to students or workers' log in credentials. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) has signed onto that effort as a co-sponsor.

The new password bill unveiled Wednesday does not explicitly address the ability of universities to seek those passwords, though Blumenthal said it could cover those interactions. "If not, I would favor broadening it to do so," he said.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 12:46 p.m. on May 9, 2012.